Well, this story is in the can. Gonna go through it again tomorrow, then put it up on Patreon for this month’s short story (the expanded worldbook is this month’s RPG offering, and I feel no need to apologize for that. I tripled its size!). Then we can work on August stuff. I have a plan…
At that moment, something warned Jimmy about the ball; he was never sure whether it was magical senses or Adventurer’s instincts, but he suddenly jerked his hands away just before the ball started to glow with a green, crackling light. The two jumped back as the ball fell back onto the table. Which promptly started to smoke, a little.
“More security measures,” Jimmy snarled. “Time to run.”
“Thirty Seconds, milord,” said Leo. That was an Adventurer’s thing, enough to stop Jimmie in his tracks. Leo said, quickly but clearly. “I know why the ball would not accept you; I think I can send the message myself. Is sending it worth it to the War?”
You have to think fast during a Thirty Seconds. “Yes,” said Jimmy, “But it’s high risk.” Dominion counter-intrusion measures were often vicious; they had gambled that the diehards hadn’t put them in place for this mission, and lost. The smart thing now was to run away, a lot.
“Less risk for the crew if I do this,” said Leo. “Trust me, milord.”
“Do it, then,” said Jimmy. “Do I stay?”
“Oh, HELL no,” shouted Leo as he turned to the crystal ball. “Get outside as quickly as you can.”